


Unmasked

by chasing_the_wild_dream



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Canon Divergence, F/F, Misunderstandings, Swan Queen - Freeform, Swan-Mills Family, kind of a Halloween fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-01
Updated: 2017-11-01
Packaged: 2019-01-27 17:40:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,139
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12587160
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chasing_the_wild_dream/pseuds/chasing_the_wild_dream
Summary: Robin is dead, Hook is gone and Regina and Emma are barely talking.Roland is living at the mansion and not in the woods with some Merry Men.When Emma wants to go trick or treating with Henry and the kids he decides it's time to help his mothers fix their issues.





	Unmasked

**Author's Note:**

  * For [LilliRegina](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LilliRegina/gifts).



> _Hello everyone,_
> 
>  
> 
> _just wanted to wish everyone a HAPPY HALLOWEEN!_
> 
>  
> 
> _I took some liberties with the timeline and some events of the show, I hope you don't mind._  
>  _Anyway._  
>  _Hope everyone has/had a spooktacular day!_
> 
>  
> 
>  _And a big shout out to my friend **Peggy** \- I dedicate this OS to her since it's her b-day (sorry, I know I'm a few_ _hours late)._
> 
>  
> 
> _xo_

“Henry, please…”  
Emma looked at her son with wide eyes, pleading for him to see reason, but he only chuckled, “I’m not going to take you trick or treating, Ma. I have my hands full with Roland, Robin and Neal.”

“See, I could help you with the kids”, Emma insisted in a last, desperate attempt to convince her son that it would be a good idea to allow her to come along.

Henry only rolled his eyes and it reminded Emma that he truly was his mother’s son. And with mother she meant Regina, who had started to avoid her ever since Robin Hood had died and Emma had no idea why.  
They had been fine, despite everything, they had been friends and then, all of a sudden and without warning, they hadn't been and it had left Emma with feelings of hurt and abandonment. 

“And what exactly would you be helping with?”, Henry asked and eyed her curiously, “Because I have a feeling I’d have to fight you in order to keep you from stealing everyone’s candy.”

“Hey now!”, Emma pouted, perfectly aware that Henry knew her too well and that she would never convince him that it was about anything else, but the candy.

“Forget it, Ma. You’re not coming with us”, Henry was too amused for his own good. Emma could be such a goof. Lately, she was more of a grouch though and he had an idea why that was. He just wasn’t sure what to do about it yet.  
“Hot chocolate and bear claws?”, he suggested as some form of a peace offering and Emma accepted gladly.

\-------------

_Meanwhile at the mansion_

“Regina, just think about it.”  
Snow watched her former nemesis turned kind-of-friend with big eyes, but the mayor only shook her head vehemently, “Absolutely not. It’s not up for discussion. Neither the one nor the other.”

“But Regina, the children…”

“Don’t even start, Snow. I’ve granted you a bigger budget for the school, I’ve had the playground re-built, the library has been modernized. You don’t get to play the children card on me. God knows I’ve done more for the children of this town than most”, Regina snapped and pinched the bridge of her nose.

Ever since Snow had shown up at her doorstep she had known this visit would result in a massive headache. Turned out she had been right.

“Regina, everybody is decorating for Halloween. And the mansion would make for the perfect haunted house”, Snow tried again, “And I know you still have some of your Evil Queen outfits.”

“The answer is still ‘no’. And there’s nothing you could do to change my mind. I hate Halloween and I won’t participate in this madness”, Regina’s tone was final and she hoped that Snow would leave her alone. Of course, she had no such luck.

“I get that you are worried that people might get the wrong idea, but I swear we all know you are not evil anymore. There’s nothing to worry about”, Snow stated in a tone so motherly and annoying that Regina wanted to snap her neck.  
“Or…”

Regina eyed her warily, preparing for what would probably be a ridiculous suggestion.

“You know, Regina…if you don’t want to be the Evil Queen for Halloween…you could always dress up as Snow White.”

She didn’t notice the fireball that had formed in her hand until she saw Snow’s eyes go incredibly wide while the woman paled more and more by the second.  
Oh, how much she wished that she could turn that dimwit into dust in that moment, but Regina knew better.  
She had a family, she had responsibilities and somehow, although she didn’t understand how it had been possible to this very day, Snow had become some sort of a friend.

Regina took a deep breath to calm and center herself and watched as the fireball in her hand extinguished and faded into nothingness within seconds before she met Snow’s terrified gaze. Good to know that the idiotic woman at least had the good grace to still fear her powers.

“The answer is ‘no’. Don’t ask me again, Snow. Next time I will roast you. And wouldn’t that make for a great Halloween costume”, Regina’s tone was threatening and left no room for further discussion. She was deadly serious and even Snow realized that.

“I better get going then”, she announced quietly and Regina nodded in agreement, “That might be best. I need to pick up Roland anyway.”

It had come as a surprise to Regina to learn that Robin had wanted her to raise Roland, but she had taken on the responsibility after his death without thinking about it twice.  
Robin might not have been the love of her life, but he had been her friend and she genuinely liked the boy.  
There was also the fact that it was partially her fault that Roland had to grow up without his parents, but that particular evil lay in the past and they had worked past it.  
It had basically turned her into a mother of two overnight.

\-------------

Emma and Henry were sitting on their bench in the park, to-go cups of hot chocolate in one hand, bear claws in the other, but Henry couldn’t ignore how quiet his blonde mother was.

“What is it with you and Halloween?”, he blurted out, not sure if Emma would find it in her to open up about what was bothering her.

The minutes passed by, but nothing happened and Henry started to feel guilty. He really needed to learn some of that finesse neither of the people in his life possessed. All of them tackled things head on, jumped in with both feet - as long as it didn’t come to talking about problems at least. And that is where he was so different from all of them.  
Because he did want to talk things through, but apparently Emma had other ideas.

It was all the more surprising when she took a deep breath all of a sudden and cleared her throat, “I didn’t have much when I was a kid. Growing up in the foster system was rough and I hardly ever got anything for myself. But Halloween…even though my costumes where usually shitty…people didn’t mind or they probably felt sorry for me, but I got candy. For free. For myself. I always hid it as best as I could and only ate one piece a day. Two on really bad days. So my supply lasted me for quite a while. But you’re right. I’m a grown up and ‘trick or treat’ is for small children. I’m sorry. I don’t know why I’m so whiny lately.”

Henry’s heart ached for his mother. He was old enough to understand now that her childhood had been rough and he wished that he could take the pain in Emma’s wild eyes away, but he knew that even though he had the heart of the _Truest Believer_ he didn’t possess that particular power.

“And I just realized the other day that it’s the first Halloween since I came here…the first year without an imminent threat to the town or one of our lives. I don’t have to work either and although I hate to admit it…sitting at home by myself is really lame”, Emma admitted, her head bowed.

Henry took her hand and squeezed it.  
Things between Emma and her parents were strained to this day, ever since she had found out that Snow and David would have another baby without even considering how it would make her feel. The fact that the Charmings had moved into the house Emma was supposed to live in with Hook didn’t help matters either.  
But they had needed the space and he was living with his mother and Roland these days, which had brought Emma back to the apartment in the end.

He made sure that he saw Emma every day and he stayed over on occasion, but it wasn’t perfect. Far from it.Henry was more than aware of it, but he had never thought things would end that way.  
Robin Hood shouldn’t have died, Hook shouldn’t have left and Regina shouldn’t have started to avoid Emma like the plague.  
It made no sense anyway.  
He had been so sure that things between his mothers were well until they weren’t and it left him confused because nothing bad had happened between them. Not that he knew of at least.

“Maybe you can spend the evening with mom?”, he suggested, carefully testing the waters.

Emma only snorted, “Yeah, right. Kid, you know that she doesn’t want to be around me.”  
She took a sip of her hot chocolate and closed her eyes to stop the tears that were welling in her eyes. She would not cry. Not again.  
Hook had left and it had been okay eventually. But Regina abandoning her the way she had, without an apparent reason no less, still stung.  
The fact that she had finally realized that she was in love with Regina sure didn’t help either, but she had always been a little slow on the uptake when it had come to her own feelings. Denial simply was too wonderful a thing.

“You didn’t fight, did you?”, Henry asked because he had to know what was going on and he watched his mother shake her head, her eyes still closed, “No fight. I thought she would hate me after Robin’s death, but we were okay then. She didn’t blame me although it was my fault. At least part of it was. I should have never chased Hook to the Underworld, but I can’t change it anymore. But we worked through it together. We were on a good path, but then…all of a sudden, she stopped coming around and I didn’t get invited over for dinner anymore and it all went to hell.”

\-------------

“Mom, I need you to do me a favor!”, Henry stormed into Regina's home office without so much as knocking, surprised to find his mother sitting on the couch with a tumbler of cider in hand. At 4 pm no less.

“What’s wrong?”, he sat down next to her, eyeing her with worry.

Regina didn’t know what to say because there was no way she could tell Henry that she had spied on him. On him and his other mother.  
It hadn’t been intentional, she simply had walked passed them on her way to pick up Roland without them noticing her presence.  
And she had overheard part of their conversation. She had witnessed Emma pouring her heart out about her miserable childhood and how Halloween had been the one time a year she had gotten something for free.  
It had broken her heart and she wanted to make things better for Emma, but she didn’t know how.  
Especially not after she had put so much distance between her and Emma over the last couple of months.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart. It’s been a busy day at work and I got a little caught up in my head. Nothing is wrong, I promise”, Regina lied, praying that Henry would believe it. She didn’t like lying to her son, but she didn’t know what else to do in that moment, “You mentioned a favor? What do you need?”

Henry studied her for a minute before he decided that it was all or nothing. There was no time to lose either as Halloween was only two days away.  
“I want you to spend Halloween with Emma.”

Regina’s eyes went wide instantly, shock written all over her face, “W-what?!”

He rolled his eyes dramatically, “You heard me. Emma is all alone and she’s been in a bad mood since weeks. And the two of you have to get over yourselves and fix whatever it is that is wrong with you because we are a family. We should spend time together, not apart. I’m sick of going back and forth between you guys all the time because we can’t even have dinner together anymore.”

Regina sighed heavily, “It’s not that easy, Henry.”

“Or maybe it is and you’re putting things out of proportion. Wouldn’t be the first time”, he countered, “How am I to know when nobody tells me anything. What is going on?”

When Regina didn’t offer any explanation he turned to face her eye to eye, “Mom, what is going on? You can tell me. I’m not a kid anymore. Whatever Emma did…I’m sure she’d apologize. She’d try to fix it. We are all she has.”

“She didn’t do anything. Not really.”  
It was barely a whisper and Regina couldn’t look at her son anymore.

Henry took her hand and squeezed it, dealing with a strange sense of deja-vu.  
Whatever was wrong with his mothers, he would get to the bottom of it.  
“Then what’s wrong?”

Regina didn’t want to give in, didn’t want to tell him, but she was aware that Henry would keep digging until he figured out what was going on and that there would be nothing she could do to stop him. That was the one lesson she had definitely learned over the years.  
Henry was like a bloodhound and could not be deterred.

“Emma never really liked Robin, I know that. Like I never cared much for Hook”, Regina began, all the while waiting for Henry to interrupt her, but he didn't. He just sat next to her and listened, “I overheard Emma talk to Archie a couple of days after Roland came to live with us. And she said she can’t understand why I thought that raising that bastard’s child was a great idea.”

She took a deep breath, “I know it was hard on Emma that I stopped including her, but Henry…Robin entrusted me to raise Roland and I love him. He deserves a loving home after everything he's been through and I thought it best to have Emma stay away. Don’t think it didn’t pain me. But Roland is a child and I’m partially to blame for him being an orphan. He needs us and I don’t think it would do anyone any good to have her around when she dislikes him so much.”

Henry wanted to say something then, but she held up her hand to make him hold his thoughts for a moment longer, “Don’t think I don’t miss her because I do. More than I ever thought possible. Emma has become such a big part of my life and I care a great deal about her. More than I should in fact, but Roland needs me. Needs us.”

It finally dawned on Henry that his mothers really sucked when it came to talking, even after all they had been through over the years.  
He was glad at the same time because this was easy to fix. Well, not easy - easy, but considering where they had started all those years ago, yeah, it almost felt like it would be a walk in the park.

“I can’t believe that you two are the grown-ups and I’m the child”, he stated, “Mom, you got it all wrong.”

Regina looked at him in confusion, "Explain, please."

Henry debated where to start because his mind was in overdrive, already planning ahead for Halloween. He needed to concentrate.  
“You know how Roland recently learned how to ride a bike? How he learned to shoot an arrow so he wouldn’t forget his father?”

Regina nodded, but wasn’t sure where Henry was going with this.

“That’s because Emma taught him. She spent her days off teaching him things Robin would have wanted him to know. She even asked Snow for archery lessons first. Does that sound like she doesn’t like him?”

Regina’s confusion only grew.  
What was that supposed to mean?  
“Why didn’t you and Roland tell me? That Emma was behind all this…”

“She made us promise not to tell you”, Henry admitted, “Because she thought you wouldn’t allow her to spend time with Roland anymore since you were so distant. But she was determined to keep Robin’s memory up. For Roland. She even offered to take us camping with the Merry Men one of these days although she hates camping.”

“But then why?”  
Nothing made sense anymore.

Henry shrugged, “Not sure what you’ve heard there. Did she specifically say your name? Or Roland’s?”

Regina thought about it for a while, but no, she couldn’t recall hearing her name, “No. I don’t think so.”

“Yeah, that’s what I expected. I can’t say for certain, but I’m sure she’s been talking about Belle. I’ve heard her rant about how irresponsible it was to have a baby with Mister Gold more than once.”

She had to admit that made an awful lot of sense because to this day she didn’t understand how someone as smart and lovely as Belle French could see anything remotely loveable in that man.  
Regina couldn’t ignore how stupid she felt. She really should have talked to Emma at some point instead of shutting her down every single time the blonde had tried to make a step in her direction, despite her being awful to Emma.

“How do I fix this, Henry?”  
She cringed at the desperation in her voice because showing weakness still wasn’t something Regina allowed herself on most occasions, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

“You really like Ma, don’t you? And I don’t mean just like…you like like her. The way I like Grace.” It was more of a statement than a question, but Henry waited for an answer with bathed breath anyway.

“Henry, I…”

Her son squeezed her hand again, “It’s alright, mom. Emma likes you too. You’d have to be blind not to see it.”  
He couldn’t help himself. As smart as his mothers were, they also were oblivious idiots at times.

Regina wanted to protest, but Henry shook his head, “Nope, you don’t get to argue with me. You asked for my help, so we’ll fix this. I already have a plan.”

\-------------

They had spent the next two days shopping, carving pumpkins and decorating the mansion which had helped keep Regina distracted from what she was about to do, but now that everything was ready and her boys were about to leave the house she turned into the nervous wreck she had been underneath all along.

Roland was dressed as Robin Hood and Regina’s heart hurt went she looked at him, but she was also really proud of the boy she had come to love like a son.  
Henry had told her he was too old to wear a costume at almost 17.

“It will be okay, mom. Breathe”, Henry smiled reassuringly, “I’ll call Emma once we’re out of the house.”

“No!”, Regina’s eyes grew comically wide, “I need to get dressed first. I just don’t know what to wear.”

Henry’s smile became even brighter, “Do you trust me, mom?”

“Of course I do. Why do you even ask?”

He nodded, “Here’s what you are going to do…”

\-------------

Emma rushed out of her car, slammed the door shut and stormed up the path to the mansion’s front door before she remembered that Henry had said there was a disturbance in the garden. She jumped over the fence and ran towards the back door, her mind racing.  
She had hoped and prayed all the way over that Henry would be alright. And Roland.  
Regina.

Regina had to be okay. She didn’t know what she’d do if she wouldn’t be.

Her heart was beating almost out of her chest and she caught sight of numerous lit pumpkins, but no sight of anything else being out of the ordinary.  
The only question was why there were so many carved pumpkins in Regina’s backyard when the brunette hated Halloween.  
The back door stood open, which made Emma feel uneasy and she cursed herself for not bringing her gun, but it was her night off and she had dashed from the apartment as soon as Henry had called.  
Well, too late now.

If everything else would go wrong she always had magic, even though she still wasn’t too fond of using it.

“Regina?”  
She entered the house, wary of her surroundings, only to recognize countless grave candles illuminating everything as far as she could see.  
Emma’s confusion only grew when she came face to face with a plastic skeleton sitting on the kitchen counter and she prayed that her mother hadn’t gone behind Regina’s back in an attempt to turn the mansion into a haunted house.  
She had overheard Snow complaining to Granny about Regina’s unwillingness to participate in any Halloween related activity and she feared for the worst.

“Regina?!”

Still no answer.  
Just red stains on the usually pristine kitchen floor.  
She bent down in a panic, but the smell of raspberry told Emma that it was most likely no blood.  
A heavy sigh escaped her lips and she took a deep breath before she made it to the foyer where more candles, spider webs and fake headstones greeted her.

“Regina!”

Although she had some sort of a feeling that nothing was wrong and Henry, the not so little shit, had meddled once again, she couldn’t shake off the worry she felt.  
If something had happened to Regina…

“Emma?”

She closed her eyes and said a silent prayer when she heard the voice of the woman who secretly held her heart, but she couldn’t see her, “Regina, where are you?”

“Living room.”

Emma didn’t hesitate to make her way over there, bumping into the doorframe and hitting her head in the process, but she didn’t care.  
She had to know that Regina was alright.

Once she set foot in said room she stopped dead in her tracks. Regina was standing next to the lit fireplace in black sweatpants and a simple red v-neck shirt, face void of any makeup, two tumblers of what Emma assumed to be apple cider in hands.  
A sea of candles illuminated the room in a warm, glowing light and she spotted huge bowls filled with her favorite candy between more Halloween themed decorations.

“Regina, what’s going on? What is all this?”

“Would you mind taking a seat?”, Regina asked and couldn’t hide how insecure and nervous she was from showing in her voice.

“Uh sure”.  
Emma sat down on the couch and watched Regina taking the spot next to her before she handed her one of the tumblers, but kept quiet otherwise.

“Regina, if Henry put you up to this…I’m terribly sorry”, Emma offered, but Regina shook her head, “No. It’s not like that. He helped me though.”

“Helped you?”  
Emma wasn’t sure she understood.

Regina took a deep breath, “Emma, I owe you an apology. Apparently, there was a misunderstanding on my part and I’m terribly sorry. And then I overheard you talk to Henry about Halloween and candy and I…I thought…I wanted to surprise you.”

Emma had never heard Regina ramble before, but she found it incredibly cute, “What misunderstanding?”

“It’s stupid, really. I was at the dinner a couple of days after Roland moved into the mansion and you were talking to Archie”, Regina explained and Emma nodded, “I remember that. We were talking about Gold and Belle. And how we both will never understand what Belle sees in him and why she wants to have and raise children with that imp.”

She caught sight of the ever growing blush on Regina’s face then and it slowly dawned on Emma that there was more to this story, “Hold on a second. You didn’t think I was talking about you, did you? Is that the reason you became so distant? Regina?”

The brunette took a big gulp of her glass and dropped her head, “I should have known better. Or at least I should have talked to you. I’m really sorry.”

“Regina?”

Emma put her glass on the couch table before she took Regina’s and placed it next to hers, her mind racing.  
How could Regina always assume the worst when it came to her and their family?

_‘Because past experiences told her to be wary.’_

She used what little courage she had and took hold of Regina’s hand, squeezing it gently, “Can you please look at me?”

It took a minute before Regina finally turned to face Emma, their eyes locking instantly.

“I thought I did something wrong or that you blamed me for Robin’s death after all”, Emma confessed and it hit Regina harder than she thought it would, “I’m so sorry, Emma. I never meant to hurt you. I just wanted to protect Roland and it was stupid. I should have talked to you.”

Emma ran her thump over Regina’s palm slowly, “You should have. But what’s done is done. It’s in the past. I could have sought you out as well, but I didn’t. I was too much of a chicken because I was afraid of your answer. Of you telling me to stay away forever.”

“I couldn’t. I wouldn’t have. Never. Emma, you have to understand that I do consider you part of this family, but I didn’t know how to go about it in case you didn’t want to be around Roland, but I would have figured something out eventually”, Regina assured, “And then Henry told me how much you’ve done for Roland lately. I can’t tell you how grateful I am.”

“It was my pleasure. He’s an amazing boy and I admire you so much for stepping up to the task the way you did. You just took him in and loved him as if he was your own. You gave him a home and a future. As you did for Henry. It’s one of the reasons I love you.”  
Emma closed her eyes and pressed her lips together. She hadn’t meant to say that out loud. Like ever.  
God, she was such an idiot.

“What?”  
Regina’s eyes were wild and full of disbelief and doubt and it broke Emma’s heart that the brunette still thought that no one could possibly love her.

It was time for some confessions, wasn’t it?

“I had a lot of time to think since Hook left and I realized that the person I was looking for, the one I wanted to see in him, the person I wanted him to be, has been there all along. You’ve always been right in front of my eyes and yet I didn’t see you for the longest time. Not clearly anyway. But now I do. And I know it’s probably going to make things weird or complicated, but I need you to know that I’ll always be your friend, Regina. And we’ll always be family. And I’ll never ask for more. I’ll always accept your limits and it will be fine, so just ignore me and my rambling”, it was Emma’s turn to duck her head.

“Henry told me to wear these clothes. And you know why?”, Regina blurted out because she was too overwhelmed to think straight. Oh, the irony.

She waited till Emma shook her head ‘no’ before she continued, “I didn’t want to put on a costume, but I also had no clue what to wear and then Henry said I should keep these on because while you knew and accepted my past as the _Evil Queen_ and respected me as the mayor…that you’d like me best unmasked. Just me. Just Regina.”

“He’s such a smart kid”, Emma replied with pride, “And he is right too.”

It took Regina a moment to collect her thoughts, “Is it enough though? Henry is almost grown up, but Roland is only seven. I’m not an easy person…we both know that. After Robin died I thought that was the end for me…relationship wise. But I too discovered that I had missed something crucial. That the person, who always had my back, the person I could always rely on…was still here. You are still here, Emma. And when Henry told me to wear sweatpants and a simple shirt because you’d like that best I finally realized that I want you to get to know all of me. The real me. That I can let my guard down with you because I trust you and because I…because I’m in love with you. But will that be enough?”

Emma couldn’t stand to see the doubt in Regina’s eyes any longer and she pulled her into her arms, holding her close like she would be the most precious thing in the world. And to Emma she was.

“More than enough”, she assured and put a kiss to Regina’s temple, “You’ve always been enough, Regina. You might not be perfect for the world, but you are for me. And you are beautiful.”

The minutes ticked away before Regina finally pulled back, “Okay.”

A smile as bright as the sun appeared on Emma’s face then, “Okay.”  
And before she could forget it she added, “And thank you so much for all of this, Regina. That’s literally the best Halloween ever.”

“My pleasure. Henry suggested we watch a movie and eat some of that artery-clogging candy you love so much”, Regina replied with a frown, causing Emma to chuckle, “Only if you want to.”

“I’m not opposed to the movie, but the candy…”

Emma smiled triumphantly, “That’s perfectly alright. More for me then.”

Regina laughed at the blonde’s childish antics, but truth be told she didn’t mind.  
For the first time in forever, she felt happy and content and Regina was well aware that it had a lot to do with Emma and her presence.  
If someone had told her back in the Enchanted Forest that she would find her happiness with _The Saviour_ and her son and the son of her fairy dust - prophesied soulmate she would have had them beheaded and yet here she was, happier than she’d ever been.

\-------------

When Henry and Roland returned to the mansion after their sleepover at the Charmings residence the next morning they found Regina and Emma fast asleep in each other’s arms on the couch in the living room. Candy papers where strewn all over the floor, causing Henry to chuckle quietly before he pulled his cell phone out of his jeans pocket and took some pictures as “evidence” because he was well aware that no one would ever believe him.  
Not that he would tell, he knew better than that.  
That would be the choice of his mothers and theirs alone.

The relaxed expression and the smiles on their faces warmed his own heart because their happiness was all that he had ever wanted for both Emma and Regina.  
And now that they had finally found it he would move heaven and hell to help them keep it.


End file.
